Andrew Shaw suffered a lower body injury in Game 2 of these Western Conference quarterfinals against the Minnesota Wild (Andrew Shaw Sports Injury Alert profile). He missed game 3 as well as last night’s game 4 and his absence is being felt by his team. Shaw provides so much for the Blackhawks. His position stationed in front of goal as well as his under-the-skin-type play can’t be understated.
The Hawks have only scored two goals in their two-game trip to Minnesota. They were shut out in Game 3 and scored twice in Game 4. One of those goals did come from a re-direct in front of the net by Michal Handzus, but that was one of the only times I have seen one of the Hawks battling for position in front of the net successfully. Bryan Bickell has tried to assume that role on the power play, but the disciplined and strong Wild defense has shut it down every time.
Certainly players like Shaw who fill these roles are often criticized and unheralded, seldom appreciated. They’re the players you love to hate–unless they lace-up for your team. If Shaw were on the ice, you would see him battling for position in front of the net at every opportunity, unafraid to get in the gritty areas of the ice where others do so tentatively. His get-under-your-skin style of play might have helped the Hawks in breaking the Wild down as it did early in the series.
Call it sustained intensity, since hitting home ice the Wild have been all over the Blackhawks, not having taken their foot off the pedal since the drop of the puck. The Blackhawks are frustrated and have been so early in each game in Minnesota. Andrew Shaw brings that same intensity, especially in road games for the Hawks, sometimes taking the crowd out of it by drawing a penalty, or getting a big power play goal by planting himself in front of the netminder. You can almost compare him to Dave Bolland for the Hawks back in the 2010 cup run. Fittingly, they called Bolland “The Rat”. Andrew Shaw brings a certain type of gritty swagger to the ice that the Hawks are truly missing right now.
Shaw was supposed to be ready for Game 5 on Mother’s day in Chicago, but we all know how hockey injuries work–he was also supposedly ready to be back for game 4 as well. Having him back for game 5 would have been what the Hawks needed to get the momentum back in this series. Without him for at least one more game, the Blackhawks are going to need to look for someone else to step up and bring the intensity.
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Main Photo Credit: Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
